Ugly Christmas Sweaters and Coming Out to Your Parents
by the revenge of the octopus
Summary: Magnus and Alec are Christmas elves. As their relationship continues, Alec still hasn't come out to his parents, and they go shopping for ugly Christmas sweaters. Basically Malec fluff.


**A/N: Yeah, this is kind of corny, but Christmas elves are really cool, and I wanted to join in on the holiday fun. So this is just some fluff, not meant to be taken seriously. I hope you enjoy it!**

When your father was the head of the toy-making division, you didn't get much bonding time. Especially when it was December. Consequentially, most of the talking they did around that time was forced and awkward. So Alec hadn't had any time to bring up his sexuality.

He squeaked as Magnus kissed his temple, blushing a deep red. He'd gotten used to his affection, but he was still wary in public.

"Magnus! Not here!" he whispered urgently, glancing around. Luckily, there weren't any other elves around. That would have been an awkward conversation.

"Sorry, but you know how sexy you look in that hoodie. I just couldn't resist."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Come on, we need to get back to work." He turned back to the toy he was constructing. He specialized in board games, and he still had five more to build before he finished his daily quota. And he was expected to go over that, seeing as his father was the best toy maker besides Mr. Claus himself. Alec definitely hadn't inherited any of the toy making genes, if there was such a thing. His sister and adopted brother were both far better, and his father was beginning to lose patience with his oldest son. Your first-born was supposed to be the pride of the family. So far Alec hadn't done anything of importance.

"Alec, what were you thinking about?" Magnus said quietly, painting a Sorry! board next to him. "You looked upset."

Alec sighed. "I was just thinking about my dad. I don't want to have to sneak around with you any more. I want to come out to my family. But… what if he's disappointed with me? I'm already a failure in the toy-building department. I make an average quota, and Jace and Izzy already hold a higher rank than me. I want to switch departments, but I like working with you, and besides, I don't want to be a disappointment to my family. What if they aren't okay with me being gay? I don't think I could endure that."

"It's okay, sweetheart," Magnus said softly, wrapping his arms around Alec's midsection and putting his chin on his shoulder. "You don't have to come out to them right now. But, just out of interest, what department would you like to be in?"

In the back of his mind, Alec was glad most of the people in their section had gone home or were far away. He hesitated a second before answering. "I want to join the animal maintenance division."

"That's really cool. You should do that, Alec. I don't think your family will be disappointed with you, and if they are, well then, they don't deserve to be your family. And if you make the switch after you come out, then maybe we can move in together? Then we could still see each other outside of work, and we could be together all the time."

Alec was surprised to find that he liked the idea. He had thought he'd be more apprehensive of moving in with Magnus, but that wasn't the case. Mostly he was excited, because that meant that he could see Magnus more. He could see him all the time.

"I think," he said slowly. "I'm going to come out to them after Christmas. Then we can move in together, and I can switch to taking care of the animals. That would work perfectly, right, Magnus?"

Magnus smiled gently and kissed his cheek. "Perfect," he agreed.

It had been a long day of thinking of ways to come out to his father whilst painting the boards he had made yesterday, and he couldn't wait to go over to Magnus' to relax. It had been a week since their conversation, and it was the day before Christmas Eve. They were lucky they had time to see each other this close to Christmas.

Alec was grateful to have Magnus. They had been going out for two months, and he knew Magnus had been getting a little impatient for him to come out. He didn't like the sneaking around either, and now that he had told Magnus his plan, he felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

He hurried along the streets, impatient to see his boyfriend. Lights were strung up along the houses and stores, which was usual for this time of year. It was rare to see a house without some sort of Christmas decoration. He glanced down at what he was wearing. He hoped Magnus would like it. His boyfriend was such a stylish person, and he always worried about what he was wearing before he went to see him.

Izzy had helped him pick out his outfit. She had coerced him into wearing semi-tight jeans in place of his normal baggy cargo pants, saying that Magnus would like it. He was also wearing a shirt of Magnus' he had accidentally worn home one day. And on top of that was the hoodie Magnus had called sexy. Izzy had nodded her approval and sent him out the door.

He waved at Magnus, who was standing outside of their usual meeting place. He felt butterflies flutter in his stomach as he approached. Even after all this time, he still felt nervous around Magnus. But it was in a good way.

When he noticed what Magnus was wearing, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"What's with the ugly Christmas sweater?"

"Alexander!" Magnus said sternly, feigning insult. "Don't you know? Ugly Christmas sweaters are a requirement this time of year! We must buy you one. Come, let's go." Before he could protest, Magnus was holding his arm and pulling him toward the shopping center. "Resistance is futile," he declared, making Alec roll his eyes.

Contrary to popular belief, Christmas elves did not wear red and green jumpers and pointy hats. Nor were they as short as some people would have you believe. Magnus and Alec were both over six feet. When a Christmas elf needed new clothes, he went to the mall. There was only one in their town, but it had everything you would need. It even met Magnus' glitter needs. Alec hadn't been there since Izzy had dragged him there to get something presentable to wear, after he had first met Magnus.

They bought some green and red glitter for Magnus before hunting for a sweater. There were a few that Magnus considered, but then decided weren't festive enough. Alec began to get nervous. How festive was festive enough?

He usually hated shopping, and this was no exception. It was made more bearable because he was with Magnus, but he'd still rather hang out at Magnus' apartment and drink hot chocolate. Already it felt more like home than his parent's house, where he still lived.

Finally he grew tired of waiting and pulled Magnus into an aisle without any elves. He grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him fiercely, his pointed ears turning a little red at his boldness. Magnus froze for a second, surprised that Alec had initiated something, before kissing him back with equal vigor. Finally Magnus pulled away, out of breath.

"You're not going to distract me from finding you the perfect Christmas sweater, no matter how much I'd like to continue that."

Alec turned his lips in a pout. "Damn."

There was a cough from behind them, and they both froze. Alec turned slowly, his eyes widening as he saw whom it was.

"Dad!"

Robert Lightwood had not had a good day. First there had been the crisis with the rocking horses. Then there had been the recall on three sizes of shoes. Finally one of the reindeer had fallen ill, and while that wasn't his division, the news was still enough to stress him out. And now he had to go shopping for a suit. His old one had frayed at the hem, and he wanted to look presentable for his meeting with Mr. Claus the next day.

Much like his eldest son, he was not a fan of shopping. So he had procrastinated until finally he had forced himself to go. Looking back on it, that probably hadn't been a good idea. He was exhausted from all the emergencies, and he had snapped irritably at the first sales merchant that had approached him. He felt bad about that. She'd just been trying to do her job.

He turned into the suit aisle, and pulled back, his eyes widening slightly. He was shocked to see two young men kissing fiercely. He coughed discreetly, disgusted at their show of affection. It wasn't natural, two men being with each other like that. They broke apart from each other, and the shorter one's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Dad!?"

He froze. No, this couldn't be right. His son would never do something like this, would never be one of them.

"Dad, let me explain. This is Magnus, my boyfriend." He gestured to the man he had been kissing.

"Hello, Mr. Lightwood."

"And, uh, in case you didn't pick up on it already, I'm gay. Magnus and I have been going out for two months."

Robert felt the world sway around him. "No, Alec, you don't understand. You can't be one of them. You're just confused, all right? You don't' really like Magnus. At least, not like that. You're just mistaking your completely platonic feelings for something more."

"No, actually," Magnus, the man who'd been making out with his son, said. "Alec and I are very happy together, in a very un-platonic way. Alec isn't confused."

"Don't speak for my son, you fag! You don't know anything!"

Alec straightened up, his eyes narrowing. "Dad, don't _ever_ call my boyfriend that again. Ever. And he's right. I'm not confused. I am most definitely gay. And like he said, we're very happy together, and I don't want you to get in the way of that. So, good bye." He turned around to leave before stopping. "Oh, and after Christmas I'll be joining the animal maintenance division. I'm sick of making toys." He grabbed Magnus' hand, and dragged him away.

If Magnus hadn't been so shocked from Robert's response, he would have punched the man in the face. He definitely deserved to have some sense knocked into him, that homophobic bastard. He squeezed Alec's hand tightly as they walked out of the mall.

"So I guess we'll go to my apartment, then, sweetheart?" Alec nodded tightly. "Hey, don't worry. It'll be okay." Alec nodded again.

"I'm fine, Magnus," Alec said, his voice raspy and close to tears. "I'm fine." No, Alexander Gideon Lightwood, you are most certainly not fine, he wanted to say. But that could wait until they got to his apartment.

Magnus had intentionally chosen an apartment close to the mall. He went clothes shopping on a twice-weekly basis, and the proximity had been a must-have when he had been searching for an apartment. It certainly came in handy now, because Magnus wasn't sure how much longer Alec would have been able to hold the tears in.

Alec sat down heavily on the couch and stared at his hands, lifting them in front of his face. "What did I do, Magnus? Why does it hate me? It's not my fault… right? He doesn't understand, it's not something I choose. Love isn't a choice. And being gay isn't anything bad. Why doesn't he understand that?"

Magnus sat down next to him and hugged him gently to his chest. "It'll be fine," he muttered, moving his hand in circles on his boyfriend's back. "You can stay with me, just like we planned, remember? And I'm sure Jace and Max won't mind, and Izzy definitely won't, seeing as she already knows. It'll all be okay."

Alec hiccupped as a tear leaked from his eye. "M-Magnus, you're such a great boyfriend. I-I don't d-deserve you."

Magnus drew back and looked at Alec, holding his shoulders. "Alec, how can you think that? If anything, I don't deserve you. You're so beautiful and sweet and caring. And it's so cute how protective you are of your siblings. I could make a list a mile long of everything that's amazing about you, and an entire thesis about how your flaws make you a better, more rounded, real, person, and still find that words fail to capture everything I love about you."

Alec looked up at him, vulnerability showing in his eyes. "Magnus, c-can I stay the night?"

"Of course, Alec. Of course. You can always stay with me."

**A/N: Please review! Man, Robert's such a douchebag. **


End file.
